John Laurance

John Laurance (1750-11 November 1810) was a member of the US House of Representatives from New York's 2nd district from 4 March 1789 to 3 March 1793, preceding John Watts, and a US Senator from 9 November 1796 to 1 August 1800, succeeding Rufus King and preceding John Armstrong, Jr.. He was a member of the Federalist Party.

Biography
John Laurance was born in Falmouth, Cornwall, England in 1750, and he emigrated to the Thirteen Colonies in 1767 and settled in New York City, where he became a lawyer in 1772. He served as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, fighting at the Battle of Quebec. From 1777 to 1782, he served as Judge Advocate General, and he court-martialled Charles Lee for insubordination in 1778 and Benedict Arnold for corruption in 1779, as well as sentenced John Andre to death by hanging for spying in 1780. In 1782, he resigned his commission as colonel, and he returned to practicing law.

After the war, Laurance was a trustee of Columbia University and a member of the USNY Board of Regents, also engaging in land speculation alongside Alexander Hamilton. Laurance served as a member of the New York State Assembly from 1782 to 1783, representing Westchester County, and he represented New York County from 1784 to 1785. From 1785 to 1787, he served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, and he served in the New York State Senate from 1788 to 1790. He served in the US House of Representatives from 1789 to 1793 and in the US Senate from 1796 to 1800, and he retired in 1800. He died in New York in 1810.